Don't get me wrong. I would love for national football to become what it once was (1950s to 1990s). Who wouldn't love a heated clash between rival nations on a football pitch?
Sadly or maybe not so sadly, that's not going to happen. Club football is played at a much higher level than international football. There's also no rivalry left in national games. Thanks to loose transfer policies and other rules, players are so mixed up and familiar with each other it's not possible for teams to play patriotic football (or something above and beyond club football).
Also in the age of internet, there is really no element of surprise or unknown territory in people's mind when they hear a country's name. It takes nothing to discover all there is to know about a subject within minutes. That was one of the interesting things about international football. The "unknown" was quite luring.
As recently as 25 years ago, it was possible to distinguish football cultures by just looking at the way different national teams played. Today, there's absolutely nothing distinctive about any of them. Much like big cities around the world that have all become a copy of each other.
Sadly or maybe not so sadly, that's not going to happen. Club football is played at a much higher level than international football. There's also no rivalry left in national games. Thanks to loose transfer policies and other rules, players are so mixed up and familiar with each other it's not possible for teams to play patriotic football (or something above and beyond club football).
Also in the age of internet, there is really no element of surprise or unknown territory in people's mind when they hear a country's name. It takes nothing to discover all there is to know about a subject within minutes. That was one of the interesting things about international football. The "unknown" was quite luring.
As recently as 25 years ago, it was possible to distinguish football cultures by just looking at the way different national teams played. Today, there's absolutely nothing distinctive about any of them. Much like big cities around the world that have all become a copy of each other.
Likes:
byebyenow and Mahdi
Germany 2 Netherlands 2 FT
Wonderful goals in this match. Van Dijk scored the equaliser in the 90th min.
Wonderful goals in this match. Van Dijk scored the equaliser in the 90th min.
Likes:
Payandeh Iran